


The Pencil of the Lazy God: Rolling Pencil

by ichikonohakko



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Gen, M/M, headcanon story laced with a bit fluffy fluff midokuro nobody asked for, inspired by the OVA, where Kagami uses rolly pencil to ace his test
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-03
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-05-18 01:29:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,563
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5892880
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ichikonohakko/pseuds/ichikonohakko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story of how Midorima Shintarou's prized Pencil of the Lazy God ends up in Kuroko Tetsuya's hands involve an impulsive principal, mediocre grades, and countless study sessions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Pencil of the Lazy God: Rolling Pencil

It wasn’t often for Nijimura Shuuzou, captain of Teikou basketball club, to bring bad news to the first gym. So when he came from the head coach’s room looking pale and miserable, the entire first string huddled up around him with a degree of anxiousness around them.

Demotion? Abolition? Hellish training regime? Anything could happen.

“The headmaster notices that some players of the first string has horrible grades in the last proficiency test,” some members sighed in relief, and others are still holding their breaths. “So he said that those who rank below 450 out of 950 in the entire school would have to take a break from club activities.” Nijimura’s eyes went directly towards the best power forward in the history of Teikou Middle School only to find him missing.

“Aomine!” Nijimura sighed as he saw Aomine on the floor, looking unusually pale even with his tanned skin. He shared a look with Akashi, who eventually sigh and proceeded to take both Aomine and Murasakibara away from the room.

The captain still had a few things to say, but Kuroko was frozen on his place, biting his lower lip. “Eeeeh guess I’ll be taking a break from club activities, huh Tetsuya?” Haizaki had his hand on Kuroko’s shoulder. But upon receiving no reaction whatsoever from Kuroko, it was Midorima who went to their spot and ask.

“What rank are you two in the last proficiency test?”

Haizaki rolled his eyes. “Hmm I didn’t come to school on the test week so I guess I’d be the last? Don’t particularly care. If I can get some holiday then that’s fine. Seeya guys.” He left, leaving Kuroko who was still frozen in his previous spot.

Midorima sighed and straightened his glasses. He didn’t expect much from Haizaki, after all. But then his eyes went to the newly established phantom sixth man of their team. “How about you, Kuroko?” He asked.

Kuroko looked towards him slowly and answered with low voice.

“I ranked 451st…”

Midorima rubbed his temple thrice before sighing and eventually dragging Kuroko to Akashi’s favorite library spot, no doubt the place he, Aomine, and Murasakibara would be at this very minute.

* * *

 

“What part of Japanese don’t you get?”

Akashi was working hard. Aomine was already reduced to tears while Murasakibara was furrowing his eyebrows in confusion at the book in front of him. Kuroko, on the other hand, had his hand up. “Yes, Kuroko?” Akashi asked.

“I don’t actually have problems with Japanese, but I need serious help in English and Maths.” He made enough to pass, but not enough to catapult him into the upper 450. “Well then, I guess Midorima could tutor you in those subjects while I tutor these two in Japanese. Wipe your tears, Aomine, I’ve borrowed the key from the librarian so we could stay here as long as we need and we are not leaving until the two of you have basic understanding on this subject.”

Kuroko silently went to Midorima’s spot on the desk nearest to the door. The shooting guard was a member of the library committee, so he probably procured the key to this room by his own connections. Kuroko sat in front of Midorima, who didn’t waste any time to ask ‘which ones?’ and Kuroko opened the books for Math and English.

“Okay, let’s see what we can do if we try our hardest.” Kuroko nodded, and Midorima took out some flash cards from his bag and began to read.

* * *

 

Tomorrow is the day of proficiency test and Midorima is close to tears.

No matter what he did, Kuroko just can’t improve his English. His math is better than before (it turns out Kuroko just needed to understand how some formulas work when applied), but he constantly fail his English assignments. Judging from how he furrowed his eyebrows at the flash cards before him, it was obvious that he _is_ trying his best to understand the materials. Kuroko had done the best men could do, but he just couldn’t understand it.

Midorima looked backwards, towards Akashi’s studying session, only to find Aomine practically begging Akashi to just… _let him hold a basketball_. It seems that Akashi kept to his words that they will not leave until Aomine and Murasakibara understand the basics of all subjects, so the only time Aomine and Murasakibara are out from the library is when school is in session and when it’s time to go home. They don’t even practice. Aomine was practically nearing his limit.

But Murasakibara can do a simple algebra and Aomine could read more kanjis now, so Akashi’s efforts were not in vain at all.

Still staring at the flash cards, Kuroko murmured the vocabularies Midorima had taught him. The shooting guard sighed.

“Kuroko, if all else fail… use this.” He took out a limited edition lucky pencil only available for 100 buyers. Midorima had three of these, one he had used until it was short and he had one more that he never sharpened. “What is this?” Kuroko asked.

“Pencil of the Lazy God: Rolling Pencil. It’s a limited lucky item for academic purposes I got before Teikou’s entrance exam.” Twelve year old Midorima had lined in three different disguises to get them. But nobody needed to know that.

“Are you sure this will work?” Kuroko narrowed his eyes as he examined the pencil. “It usually attacks non-believers so don’t throw it. Use it only when all else fail.” Midorima warned, and Kuroko nodded.

* * *

 

It was a day under a clear blue sky that the entire Teikou students crowd around the long board that displayed the results of the proficiency test. Midorima didn’t see any red hair in the crowd, so he surmised that Akashi hadn’t feel the need to confirm his standings. True to his prediction, the name Akashi Seijuurou were written in the foremost left, underneath the number 1, and his own name next to it.

This was predictable, obviously, but still he felt dejected. Straightening his glasses, Midorima’s eyes moved to other names after his own.

There was a loud scream and cries and Aomine was kneeling under the board. “Thank you, Buddha! Thank you!” Midorima’s eyes went up to the board and find Aomine’s name written underneath number 449.

Next to him is Murasakibara’s name, _then_ he saw Akashi amidst the crowd, smiling to himself as if he had just won the lottery, and Midorima’s eyes scanned the names left to Aomine’s one by one to find the person _he_ tutored.

“I don’t see Kuroko’s name in the four-hundreds.” Akashi’s voice startled him, but Midorima faked a cough to disguise his yelp. “Maybe in the three-hundreds?” Midorima and Akashi scanned the three-hundreds’ section, still no Kuroko. The future captain and vice-captain of basketball club moved even more into the left. And Kuroko’s name didn’t appear in the two-hundreds and the hundreds.

Midorima’s heart began to race. Either they had been looking wrong and Kuroko was below Aomine and Murasakibara, or he had gone into the double digits. Akashi remarked his curiosity and they both continued left.

It turned out that Kuroko wasn’t in the lower 50s, so that must mean he was high in the board. Akashi decided that he would scour from the first and Midorima continued left.

Left and left and left and left until there it was.

“Wow, I have never make it into the top 30 before.” There was Kuroko’s voice, monotonous and blunt as ever he stood beside Midorima, underneath his own name. Kuroko’s name was emblazoned proudly under the number 29 and Midorima was beyond proud. He didn’t show it, though.

Kuroko took out a pencil from his bag and twirled it on his fingers. “It really is a god’s pencil. Here, Midorima-kun, thank you for lending it to me.” Midorima remembered the study sessions they had together and the words ‘it was your own effort’ danced on the tip of his tongue. But then he stared at Kuroko. Azure met with emerald and Midorima shook his head.

“No, keep it. The pencil’s yours.” He straightened his glasses.

It was the first quiet and tranquil non-mandatory moment the both of them share before Akashi went over to their place and congratulated both Midorima (for his great tutoring skills) and Kuroko (for his great effort to keep up with Midorima), and neither of them know that this would only be the first of the many moments they share.

* * *

 

The next proficiency test are held when a certain Kise Ryouta had joined the basketall, thus adding one more student to Akashi’s tutoring session and of course, Kise looked towards Kuroko and Midorima, who was a few desks away from them.

“Why can’t I join them instead, Akashicchi?” He whined.

Akashi looked towards the pair whose fingers were locked together underneath a book, yet still manage to maintain the façade of their normal bicker and smirked.

“Midorima works best when tutoring Kuroko, and I am more than capable to handle the three of you.”

 

 

(Truth is, Kuroko and Midorima had been reaching for the rolling lucky pencil only to accidentally touch each other’s fingers and none of them had the initiative to move, both frozen in place until the other decided to move. So of course in the end they just let their hands sit there, forgetting the lazy god’s pencil rolling under the desk.)

 


End file.
